Maybe it Could Work
by perception-altered
Summary: HM Margaret and Hawkeye have been divorced for 2 years, but why did she leave him? Read and Review
1. Default Chapter

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Maybe It Could Work? 

It had been 2 years since the divorce. Hawkeye still could not believe that it had ended. "What went wrong?" he had asked himself over and over as he paced steadily through the halls of a somewhat empty hospital. Margaret had just left without saying why and after the divorce had not tried to contact him at all, and as he reached in his pocket to read the invitation of a M*A*S*H 4077 reunion he only hoped she would be there. 

Suddenly over a P.A. came "Phone call for Dr. Pierce," who could that be he wondered. 

"Hello?" 

"Hawkeye?" 

"Beej is that you?!" 

"Yeah Hawk I was just wondering if you were coming to the reunion that I'm having here?" 

"Yeah, yeah I'll be there I don't have anything keeping me here at the moment, ya know with Margaret gone I've been trying to pass the time, you don't know if she's going do you," Hawkeye inquired. "I don't know hawk I haven't heard anything from her yet but she probably just got the invitation. "Yeah....well my plane will be arriving in California at 2pm Saturday, so I'll see you then." "Alright Hawk I'll be waiting with bells on." "I hope that's not all you'll have on," Hawkeye said with a grin, "bye Beej." 

After working a long shift Hawkeye finally came home and retired to the couch and turned the TV on just loud enough to hear so it didn't disturb his father and opened a bottle of scotch and started drinking like he did when he was in Korea once again trying to forget, forget everything that had happened these last 2 years, he just wanted to see her again, she was the only one that made him feel alive, and now she was gone and he wondered why. All she had said was that it all had moved too quickly for her, but he knew better. Thoughts blurred through his mind until he finally passed out on the couch. 

Several hours later Hawkeye was awakened by the sound of the phone ringing. "Yeah hello," he said lazily. "Hi Hawkeye," the voice on the other line said. "Margaret is that you?" 

"Yes Hawk it's me." 

"Margaret! Margaret! Well it's nice hearing from you I mean it's only been 2 years since you left and never gave me so much as a reason," he said not believing that she would call him. 

"Hawk I'm sorr--" 

"Oh don't apologize to me because I don't think I have it in me to forgive you Margaret! I loved you so much and things were going to good and then you just up and leave in the middle of the night and I don't hear from you for a week until I'm served with divorce papers!" By this time he was beginning to yell. 

"Hawk please-" 

"Oh sorry am I not supposed to be mad about this. Sorry Margaret we can't all be like you and not show any sort of emotion." 

"That's not fair!" 

"Neither was leaving me without a reason!" 

"Hawkeye I just called to see if you were going to the reunion, I'm going and I was hoping you would as well so maybe we could talk about this after. Good bye Hawkeye." 

As she hung up the phone she couldn't believe how much she hurt him. It broke her heart to hear him like that. She still loved him so much but she had to go. And he was right he did deserve a reason. But how could she tell him? How could she tell him after two years that he had a son. 

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To be continued... 


	2. 2

It was already Saturday and Hawkeye was getting ready to leave for San Francisco. As he was getting ready all he could think about was Margaret. She meant the world to him. As he looked in the mirror he couldn't believe how tired he looked. His eyes that once danced with mischief now were dull and showed his sadness, his hair seemed to have a little more grey and he had several days of growth on his face. Thoughts ran through his head of a happier time and it tore him up when he woke up to find that Margaret was gone.

"Are you almost ready to leave Hawk?" his dad called up to him waking him up from his daydream.

"Yeah, just let me clean up and I'll be right there."

Hawkeye appeared a few minutes later and the loaded his luggage into the car and began their drive to the airport. They drove in silence for about ten minutes until Daniel decided to break the silence. 

"So, you're arriving in California at 2?" he asked.

"Yeah, yeah Beej is picking me up then we're going to his house for the reunion."

"Who's all going to be there?" Daniel quizzed.

"Oh you know the usual crowd. Radar, Potter, Klinger, Trapper….."

"What about Margaret?"

"What about her?" Hawkeye asked with a hint of bitterness in his voice.

"I was just wondering if she was going that's all."

"Yeah she's going," he said almost in a whisper.

"Well we're here," Daniel stated, happy to break the tension. "Try to have a good time Hawk." It hurt him so much to see his son like this. 

"I'll try," he said forcing a smile as he said good bye to his dad. 

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San Francisco

Hawkeye looked around the airport trying to find his friend through the crowd, but he finally caught glimpse of that cheesy moustache and new it was BJ.

"Hey BJ!" He called as he walked towards his old bunkmate.

"Hey Hawk good to see ya!" 

"You too Beej," he said forcing a smile.

"Well come on lets get going before everyone starts arriving at the house."

They were only in the car five minutes till BJ had to start quizzing him. They hadn't keep in touch that much Hawkeye and Margaret divorced and he could see his friend was still hurting.

"So how are you doing Hawk?"

"I'm alright," he said showing no emotion in his tone.

"Come on Hawk-"

"I said I'm fine," he said in a warning tone letting BJ know to change the subject.

"Uh huh, well we should be there pretty soon, I can't wait for you too see how big Erin has gotten! I can't believe that she'll be turning 6 this year. Well here we are!" He said as they pulled into the driveway. No one had arrived yet so it gave him time to get prepared for Margaret's arrival.

"Do you want a beer?" BJ offered.

"Yeah, thanks."

Just then there was a knock at the door and Hawkeye's heart skipped a beat hoping that it would be Margaret, but he was relieved to see it was Radar and his wife Patty. Shortly after Colonel Potter and his wife, Trapper and Louise and their two daughters who Erin took to right away, Klinger and Soon Li arrived and the party was in full swing. Everyone was laughing and reminiscing about old times, but Hawkeye seemed very distant. He forced a smile when he needed too but inside he had wished he stayed home. All he could think about was Margaret and then he saw her and he couldn't believe it. He felt himself falling to pieces all over again and had to leave before everyone noticed. He walked quickly up to the spare room he would be staying in and was try to tell himself to be strong. He downed the beer he had in his hand hoping it would numb his pain for a little while at least. 

"Hello stranger." A familiar voice said to him.

"Hello Margaret," He said in a sad tone.

She couldn't believe the sadness in his eyes he looked like a lost puppy dog, and it tore her up inside and she new she was the one who did this to him. He deserved and explanation but he didn't know how he would react and it scared her.

"Did you leave because of me?" She asked

"Well you would be an expert on the subject of leaving," he said harshly.

"I wanted to talk to you about that," She had to tell him, but just then Peg came upstairs with a little boy just over one year of age who was crying.

"Sorry I couldn't calm him down I think he missed his mommy," Peg said as she placed the infant in her arms causing Hawkeye a lot of confusion.

"Thanks." She said as Peg left the room.

Hawkeye just started. He couldn't say anything, he was almost frozen as he saw her with the infant.

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Ah a cliff hanger. Please read and respond and let me know how you think this should go. I'll try to update as soon as I can.


	3. 3

"Hawk are you okay?" Margaret asked confused by the expression on his face.

"Uh.." he stalled unsure of what exactly to say. He couldn't believe Margaret could do this to him. 

"Hawk?"

"Yeah" He replied still focused on the baby in her arms.

"Are you okay?" 

"Well you know Margaret," he said coolly, "if you wanted to see other people during our marriage you could have at least said something." 

Margaret was stunned. How could he possibly think she would cheat on him, she loved him more than anything. "Hawkeye I--"

"So who was he Margaret? Did you actually know him or did you just pick him up somewhere? Never mind I don't even want to know." And with that he headed for the door.

"Hawkeye please don't leave," she pleaded grabbing a hold of his arm.

"Margaret let go of me!" He warned.

"Not till you listen to what I have to say," She said in her major tone that made him cringe.

"Haven't you hurt me enough for one day," he sighed as he sat back down.

"I'm not trying to hurt you, I just wanted to let you know why I left," She was almost in tears.

"Well I can see why," he said as he pointed at the infant, "you knew I wasn't ready for kids so you went and had one with someone else!"

"He's yours," she said almost in a whisper.

"What?" he was getting scared now. 

"He's your son." 

He felt his heart rate increase and he began to feel as though he was suffocating. This had all been too much for one day. 

"Hawkeye are you going to say anything?" She asked confused by his reaction. He was now a ghostly shade of white.

"I got to get some air," he said as he made a dash for the door. As he tried to make his way he ran right in to BJ.

"Hey where's the fire?" BJ said with a smile.

"Huh..what?" 

"What's your hurry Hawk, are you alright?" 

"Yeah I just need a drink."

BJ could see something was visibly wrong. Just then Margaret appeared, she put her son down with the other children and headed for Hawkeye and BJ.

"Margaret I don't want to talk right now," He stated before she could say anything.

"What's going on?" BJ asked confused at why his best friend was acting so strangely. 

"Oh not much, ya know a little of this a little of that, oh yeah and Margaret just let me know that I'm a father!" And with that he walked a way and headed for his old friend Trapper.

"Hey Trap!"

"Hawk what's going on?"

"What do ya say we go and check out some of the bars around here."

"You want to leave?" He asked confused.

"Just for and hour or two, it's a little crowded here if you know what I mean," he said as he gestured towards Margaret.

"Ah okay, just let me get my keys," Trapper said.

"Okay, thanks Trap."

Trapper went over to BJ and told him that they would be leaving for an hour or two. BJ didn't think it would be the best idea but it would be better then having Hawkeye and Margaret yelling at each other.

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Finally at 10pm a Taxi pulled up and a visibly drunken Hawkeye and Trapper stumbled out. At this time all that remained at BJ's house besides his family was Margaret and her son. 

As they entered the house they tried to be as inconspicuous as they could but of course in their drunken state that was difficult.

"Hiya Hotlips" Trapper said as they were greeted at the door by Margaret, and Hawkeye couldn't help but laugh grabbing a hold of Trapper to keep him from hitting the floor.

"I don't find this amusing," She warned with her arms crossed.

"Don't worry, don't worry I know how to handle her," Hawkeye said to Trapper, "Margaret how about you meet me in my room and I will show you the best night of your life!" He said as he grabbed a hold of Margaret and kissed her. But instead of giving in to him like she used to she pulled away and smacked him across his face.

"Nicely done Hawk," Trapper commented as Margaret went to the room she was staying in with her son.

"Well I gave it a shot, where is everyone?"

"They left for the night," BJ said as he entered the room. 

"Well I better get back to the hotel," Trapper said, "Could you give me a ride Beej?" 

"Sure," He said as he got his keys, "Hawk I think you should go and sleep it off." 

"Yes mother," he replied sarcastically.

As he was making his way up to his room he heard crying and he knew it was Margaret. He went and knocked on her door.

"Who is it," she asked.

"Can I come in?"

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Sorry to end it like this but I've got a little bit of writers block.

Let me know how you think this should go. Any suggestions are welcomed.


	4. 4

She was so mad at him that she pondered whether or not she should open the door.

"Margaret?"

Afraid that the baby might wake up she walked towards the door and opened it. "What do you want?" She asked trying to hide the fact that she had been crying. 

"I just wanted to know something."

"What did you want to know?" She asked trying to read his expression.

"I wanted to know my son's name." He said in almost a whisper.

"His name is Benjamin Daniel Pierce."

He was speechless, in disbelief that she had named him after himself and his father. But still he had to know why she left him, especially when she was carrying his baby.

"Hawkeye are you okay?" 

"No, no I'm not Margaret," he said looking deep into her eyes, "I haven't been fine since you left me, and now you come here and tell me I have a son!" 

"Shh! Do you want to wake him up?" She warned, "Look Hawkeye, I have to go back home tomorrow evening, why don't we just enjoy the last day of the reunion and we'll deal with this later."

"How do I know that you won't just disappear again?"

"Because I think we have a lot to work out."

"Alright, alright, good night Margaret."

"Good night Hawkeye."

He then went to his room and tried to sleep. Despite his drunken state sleep came very hard for him. He kept thinking of all that had occurred the last twenty four hours. As if seeing Margaret was enough, but now to top it all off he had just found out he was a father. The thought of being a father to someone scared him, well terrified him is more like it. He wasn't ready for children, he wasn't comfortable with them, he always new Margaret wanted children when he married her and he always could see the pain in her eyes when he avoided the subject. But now everything had changed.

The next day seemed to go alright. The reunion was a hit, everyone was reminiscing about old times. Hawkeye still seemed very distant. He included himself in the group when he had too but didn't try to be the centre of attention by any means. That afternoon and evening people were beginning to head home Hawkeye would be the only one that would leave the next morning. When Hawkeye saw that Margaret was about to leave he ran up to her he had to do one more thing before she left.

"Margaret!"

"What is it Hawkeye?"

"Well I just, I just wanted to uh-" Just then he grabbed her and kissed her like he had when they left Korea. 

Moments later they broke apart a little breathless and he whispered in her ear, "I still love you." She then got in a taxi and was heading to the airport and then home unsure of what would happen when she met with Hawkeye again. She then glanced at her young son who looked so much like Hawkeye it was uncanny, she knew they had to work something out. Deep down she too was still very much in love with Hawkeye, and she really didn't want to leave him, she was so scared when she found out she was pregnant. She always wanted children but she new Hawkeye would be less then ecstatic. She was afraid he would leave her, so before he got the chance she thought it would be better that she left him before he would leave her.

***********************************************

"Well Hawkeye it was good to see you again," BJ said as he pulled his friend into a hug.

"Yeah we'll have to do this again." 

"Before you leave Hawk I want to give you this," he said as he handed Hawkeye a piece of envelope.

"What's this?" He asked opening it.

"A plane ticket to New York and Margaret's address and phone number."

"Are you crazy I can't just show up on her door step." 

"You need to work things out for with her, you two still love each other and besides you got a little boy who needs to get acquainted with his dad."

He looked down at the ticket and the paper with Margaret's address and he smiled, he knew he had to go to New York. "Thanks Beej." 

"Your welcome just get on that plane," he said almost pushing him into the taxi.

"I'm going, I'm going. Oh could you tell my dad where I'm going."

"He already knows." He said smiling.

Hawkeye couldn't help but laugh and as he boarded the plane he could help but think what would be next for him and Margaret.

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A few hours later he reached New York. He reached for the piece of paper containing Margaret's address, he hailed a taxi and was now on the way to her apartment, and now he was beginning to get nervous. And as he arrived he could feel the butterflies in his stomach. 

"This is it." The driver said. He couldn't believe he was actually there. He paid the driver and got out and climbed the stairs to the forth floor where her apartment was. As he approached her door he could here her playing with the baby. He was terrified to knock on the door, afraid she would slam it in his face, but he had to do it and with that he knocked on the door.

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A/N: _Please let me know what you think this should go. Álso let me know what you think of the story whether it's good or bad. Thanks._


	5. 5

"Hawkeye what are you doing here?" She asked as she opened the door.

What am I doing here? He thought to himself as he tried not to confess his undying love for her and that she was the only one for him and no one else could fill the void he had in his heart the day she left him.

"Um.." he stammered, "I…uh.. well…"

"How about you come in" she said seeing that he was obviously having a hard time trying to figure out what to say to her.

"Thanks."

He couldn't believe that she even let him in the door. Especially after how he had treated her in California. But she too knew they had a lot to talk about.

"Do you want something to drink, I don't really have much I haven't had time to go shopping, and when I do shopping with a baby isn't as fun as it sounds."

"It's okay I'm fine."

"Are you sure, how about something to eat, are you hungry?" She asked nervously.

"No, Margaret I'm fine. I didn't come all this way to eat."

She tried to read his expression, but she couldn't. She was afraid he was angry at her, not that he didn't have a reason. The kiss after the reunion had puzzled her, yet she new that he still loved her, and he had always loved her. Love was never a problem in their relationship, with Margaret it was fear that it was too good to be true.

"Why are you here then?"

"Because I love you Margaret," he heard himself say it but he couldn't believe it, "I've always loved you, I know you left me and I think I know why you did, but damn it Margaret we could have worked through it!"

Just then as if on cue the baby started crying. She looked at Hawkeye and got up to go get the baby. She returned seconds later with him in her arms. Hawkeye began to feel a little nervous. But that was normal for him he was always uncomfortable around children.

"Would you like to hold him Hawk?" She asked hoping he would.

"Um.. not right now, he looks comfortable being with you, besides I was hoping to talk to you first."

"Sure," she said a little let down.

"Margaret?"

"Yes?"

"Why did you leave me? Well I know why you left me, did you think I wouldn't be able to deal with having a child or did you just stop loving me?"

"Oh Hawkeye, I left because I though you would be angry and end up leaving me. It was never about loving you. I just knew how you didn't want children, and when I found out that I was pregnant I was scared, I thought I'd lose you." She could feel the tears starting to form as those old feelings began to take hold.

"You never even gave me a chance! No you're right I didn't want children, but that doesn't mean that I would leave you because you were pregnant. It was half my fault remember," he said with a half smirk trying to lighten the moment.

"Ah leave it to Hawkeye Pierce to make a joke."

"Yeah well one person once told me that people hide their true feelings behind jokes, good old BJ, he was the one who said I should come here."

"Some how I'm not surprised."

"Yeah…."

"Well, I know it doesn't mean much now but I'm sorry Hawk."

"I know."

"So where are you staying tonight, I mean, do you have a place to stay tonight?"

"No I really hadn't thought that far ahead I'll probably just go to a hotel."

"I have a spare room if you want to use it." She insisted hoping her would stay.

"I'd hate to impose."

"I insist, besides hotels around here are a bit pricey."

"Alright then as long as you insist," he said a little relieved that she didn't want him to leave.

The evening went pretty well for them. They had dinner together, talked about the baby, and Hawkeye even held him, which Margaret was very happy about. It almost seemed like they were a family, but Hawkeye was still very torn up inside. When the put the baby to bed it gave them some time alone, which Hawkeye was happy about, he wanted to get to know his son, but he was still very leery of children.

"Do you want to watch a movie?" Margaret asked.

"Sure which one?"

She flipped through the channels until she found one that she liked. "How about this?"

"Sure."

They sat in silence for a while each sneaking glances at each other, not sure what to say. Margaret couldn't believe how much older he looked after two years. He had a little more grey and he seemed to have lost some weight, but what had really changed was his eyes.

"So," Margaret said breaking the silence, "How about a drink?"

"Sure."

"Is scotch alright?"

"That would be great."

She got up and got the drinks and handed one to Hawkeye.

"Thanks."

"I'm glad you came."

"I wasn't sure if you would be." He said looking deep into her eyes.

"Really?"

"Yeah, I wasn't too sure if I wanted to see you either. You know I almost hated you after you left, but I never stopped loving you."

"Oh Hawkeye-"

Just then he leaned in and kissed her.

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A/N : let me know how you think this should go. I'm starting to run out of ideas. All feedback is welcomed.


	6. 6

She couldn't believe that he was kissing her. She had wanted him to, she was still very in love with him. And as he kissed her she could feel all his pain and hurt and that almost scared her.

"I'm sorry," he said as they parted.

"Don't be sorry."

"No, no I shouldn't have done that, it's just….just…oh hell I don't know Margaret."

"Maybe we should leave this until tomorrow it's getting late," she said as she glanced at her watch.

"Yeah, maybe that's a good idea," he said getting up and heading to the spare room, "good night Margaret."

"Good night Hawkeye."

At three in the morning Hawkeye awoke to an unfamiliar sound, the sound of a baby crying. The sound of it scared him to the point that he had jumped out of bed. It took him a couple of minutes to figure out where he was and as he did he slowly made his way to the nursery.

"Hi." She said as she spotted him at the door, and she could see his was looking very nervously at her and the baby. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah I just though I'd make sure he was okay."

"Why don't you hold him and I'll go get him a bottle." she said handing him to Hawkeye.

"Sure, sure."

"Okay I'll be right back."

"So…" he said watching as the small child looked at him intensely, "do you come here often?" He was terrified and hoped that Margaret would show up soon. "In case you haven't heard I'm your dad, but I'm sure everyone knew that before me," he was beginning to ramble as she walked through the door.

"Here you go" she said as she passed the bottle to Hawkeye.

"Um..you're uh.. Probably better at this than me."

"Nonsense you can do this."

"Margaret I really don't know-"

"Here I'll help you," she said as she took his hand that held the bottle and angled it near the child's mouth as he began to drink it, and it wasn't long before he was starting to fall back to sleep, and she smiled as Hawkeye too was starting to doze off. She very quietly removed him from Hawkeye's arms and placed him in his crib and covered Hawkeye with one of the blankets and went back to her own bed.

The next morning Hawkeye was again awoken by the sound of a baby crying as he got up and picked up the baby and knocked on Margaret's door. There was no answer so he walked in and softly calling her name as she began to stir.

"Margaret can you help me with this," he pleaded.

"Good morning to you too," she said half joking.

"Margaret" he pleaded.

"Okay okay I'm up."

Margaret got up changed the baby and started to make breakfast as Hawkeye and the baby sat at the table. She could see he was obviously uncomfortable with him still but hoped that would change in time. She knew not to push him due to the incident on the bus.

"So how long are you staying?" She asked.

"I don't know I really haven't thought that far ahead."

"Well did you want to go shopping with me today?" she asked hoping to take advantage of having him around doing family things. Hawkeye of course cringed at the sound of the word shopping but decided that any time spent with Margaret was a million times better than the time he spent alone at home.

"Sure, why not." He said smiling.

Just then the phone rang.

"Hello," Margaret said as she answered it wondering who could be calling.

"Hello Margaret, is Hawkeye there?"

"Yeah just one second, Hawkeye it's BJ" she said as she handed him the phone.

"Hey Beej, what's up?"

"Hawk.. um I don't know how to say this.."

"Just say it."

"Okay.. I just got a call from Charles… You're father's had a heart attack and is at Boston Mercy."

"Oh my god is he all right?"

"He's stable now…but"

"I gotta go Beej I gotta go get the next plane." he said as he literally dropped the phone and started packing. Margaret hung up the phone and went to talk to Hawkeye to see what was going on and why he was leaving so suddenly.

"Hawk-"

"Sorry Margaret I gotta go."

"What's wrong?" She asked very concerned about the way he was acting.

"My dad's sick." He said with tears in his eyes, "he's had a heart attack, I got to go see him."

"I'll come with you."

"You don't have to." He said really hoping she would.

"No it's okay I'll get someone to cover for me at work and I'll drop off Ben at my sister's, she lives just 2 blocks away."

And with that they got everything sorted and left for Boston. When they finally landed and neared the hospital Hawkeye appeared to get more and more restless. As they got to the hospital he was almost jumping out of his skin to get into the hospital and as he got to his father's room he was not prepared to see his father with tubes going in and out of him and he was still not conscious.

"I shouldn't have left." He said barely loud enough for Margaret to hear.

Just then Charles came over to him.

"Hello Pierce."

"How is he?" Were the only words he could get out.

"Right now all we can do is wait and see." He said looking down.

"Can I go in and see him?"

"Of course."

Hawkeye went in the room and sat next to his father. He couldn't believe all this was happening. "Please don't leave me." He said in a voice not above a whisper.

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A/N: Let me know how you think this should go. Any feedback is welcomed as always.


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